Losing Orbit
by TheBleachDoctor
Summary: The Skaian Empire is embroiled in a war with the invading Alternian Empire. In the middle of this galaxy-spanning battlefield, a young tactical officer by the name of Rose Lalonde is captured as a slave by enemy Alternian forces. A young Jade blood just happens to notice her at an auction. Smut later, at which time the rating will change. Rosemary with a smattering of space combat!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This is primarily a Rosemary fic (possibly my first smut later), so expect mainly Rosemary. However, I will spatter this story with space battles, so that's what you're getting first. Enjoy, and hold out for classy lesbians._

**Losing Orbit**

**Chapter 1**

A young woman stands on the Bridge of a starship. Although it was a mere two months since the ship was built, it is only today that it will christened in battle! What was the name of the starship again?

Ah yes, it was the Destroyer-class starship _Dark Side of the Moon_.

The _Dark Side of the Moon_ floated in a defensive formation with seven other ships, two fellow Destroyers, one Battlecruiser, and three Frigates. The Destroyers had six red glowing nacelles at the end which housed the graviton generators. They provided the motive power for the starship; allowing it to move by generating a gravitational anomaly that the ship "fell" into. The nacelles were attached by grey struts to a central spinal shaft which stretched for 400 meters. In the middle, two saucer sections were attached. No lights could be seen from them as they were covered in armor plates. Both saucer sections were identical, but only one of them actually housed the Bridge. Peeking out from behind armor plating, turrets scanned the emptiness of space. On the tip of the ship's spinal shaft, a single particle accelerator cannon glowed a menacing blue. It was flanked by four torpedo tubes, and the slightly bulbous head of the ship had autocannon turrets stuffed wherever they could fit.

The Frigates were a bit more modest. They consisted of two modular saucer sections with a weapons bay in the middle. Two struts attached the two graviton generators. The diminutive 75 meter ship was essentially a gunship.

The Battlecruiser absolutely dominated the fleet at a solid one kilometer length. It was angular, like an arrowhead. Eight graviton nacelles were attached to a single strut that stretched out the back of the main body. The main hull was coated in autocannon turrets and armor. There was no room for luxuries like windows on the warship. Two main spinal guns and a massive particle accelerator cannon topped off the ship's arsenal.

The young woman on the Bridge of the _Dark Side of the Moon_ has been the ship's first officer for almost three whole weeks, but it is only today that the captain will actually remember her name!

"Uh," the captain drawled, looking at his First Officer. She wore the standard Skaian Navy uniform. Like her captain, she was from the moon of Derse, and her clothing reflected that. The white and blue cloudy motif was broken up by stripes of purple that hugged her curves. Three stripes on her cuffs indicated her rank as Commander.

"I think I forgot your name again," The white-haired red-eyed Dersian captain Dave Strider addressed his First Officer in an embarrassed tone.

She turned to look at him, as she got up from her tactical station. Her short hair, which was kept out of her face using a hairband, swished slightly with the movement.

"For about the twentieth time, captain, my name is Rose Lalonde. You would do well to remember that." Rose coldly glared at Dave.

"Rose. Got it," he turned away from his First Officer's piercing glare, "I'll lock that down in my brain and never let it go. Like a bear trap."

Rose rolled her eyes and sat back down at her station. She continued to run the diagnostic on the ship's particle accelerator cannon. The Skaian Fleets were making the Alternians pay for every galactic sector, but they were still losing. At the beginning of the war, the Skaian Empire had 400 colonies, a population of 6,000,000,000,000,000, and a fleet boasting 3,000 warships. Five years into the war, the overall population had been knocked down to 459,000,000, they only held about 54 colonies, and their fleet was down to 800 ships. Their way of life was riding on this fight. The group Rose was stationed on was the Dersian 47th Battle Group, and they were tasked with defending the colony of Hestia until the inhabitants could evacuate. The colony had a large number of scientific personnel who were working on a project that could turn the tide of the war.

Personally Rose thought that one Battle Group was insufficient against the invading Alternian Attack Groups, but all the other Fleet assets were tied up. They were the ones who had to hold the line, alone.

Long range scanners put ETA of the Alternian Attack Group at "any minute now", so it was imperative that every system on the ship operate perfectly. A malfunction meant assured death.

"Vessels dropping out of Psionic FTL! Counting four Cruiser-analogues!" a crewman cried out as his console screeched shrill alarms. On the viewscreen, the four Alternian ships streaked into view. They were odd things, sharp and organic, as if they had been grown rather than built. Each measured at an impressive 100 meters.

"Combat Alert!" Dave shouted, activating the ship's siren and dimming the lighting to red. The rumbling of the deck plating became evident as the Graviton engines dialed up to full power. Smaller Graviton generators beneath the armor plating came alive, suspending the armor plates a meter away from the surface of the hull.

"Arm torpedoes, charge the particle cannon, task autocannons with hull penetration duty!" captain Dave scowled at the image of the Alternian ships on his viewscreen.

"Torpedoes armed, cannon charging at 68%," Rose reported, "General Harley is ordering the fleet to concentrate our fire on the first two ships. We are weapons free!"

"Good," Dave smirked, "Fire at will!"

The seven Skaian starships opened fire upon the Alternian invaders. Four beams of light lanced out and struck the first two Alternian Cruisers, two beams apiece. The particle weapons chewed into and through the hull, striking vital systems and opening the inside of the ship to vacuum. Crew and equipment were sucked into the unforgiving void of space.

The first Cruiser was hit amidships by two rounds launched by the Battlecruiser's spinal guns, tearing the ship in two. Secondary explosions rocked the hull as the Helmsman was killed, rendering warship useless.

Torpedoes impacted the second ship, engulfing a good portion of it in nuclear fire. Activating emergency systems, the ship escaped to lightspeed before its Helmsman could be killed.

The remaining two Cruisers were untouched, and their Helmsmen finally recovered from the strain of FTL. Using their Psionic powers, they each extracted six 20-kilogram slugs from the ship's internal magazines, shoving them into tubes that opened up to the ship's bow. In the next second, those slugs shot out at 4,025 kilometers a second. They crossed the short distance between the two groups, and bit deep into the Skaian fleet. A frigate was speared by one of the rounds, its weaker armor no match for the projectile, which struck with the kinetic equivalent of 38 kilotons of TNT. The ship crumpled and exploded as its reactor lost containment.

Six rounds struck glancing blows on the Battlecruiser. The starship's armor plating had calculated the trajectory and speed of the incoming projectiles, and had angled the armor plates to minimize the impact. The rounds deflected off and sailed away into space. Two rounds struck the _Dark Side of the Moon_, and were similarly deflected. Three rounds slammed into unprotected areas of the second Skaian Destroyer, smashing through titanium hull like tissue paper. Three of the six nacelles tore off, and the secondary saucer began to spew flames through hull breaches.

Onboard the Bridge of the Skaian Battlecruiser _Reckoning_, General Jade Harley gripped her command chair as her ship rode out the barrage of kinetic rounds.

"Damage Report!" she barked at her command crew. The ship rumbled as a power conduit overloaded and exploded from sustaining the graviton armor plating.

"Power conduits B through F are shot!" someone called out, "Main cannon is recharging at 16%, spinal guns are ready to fire!"

"Then fire!" General Harley shouted over the din of alarms, "Target their Bridge!"

The _Reckoning_ swung about, deflecting a couple more shots from the Alternian cruisers. Two large 10-kilogram depleted uranium slugs shot out of the spinal cannons at 3,056 kilometers a second. They streaked towards the third Alternian cruiser. However, the Psionic wasn't caught with his/her pants down. The projectiles suddenly diverted in their trajectory, sailing off into the great unknown.

The Cruiser was then forced to deal with the remaining two Frigates, which were punching small holes in the hull using their autocannons.

The crippled second Destroyer parried a few shots from the fourth Cruiser, and fired a volley of torpedoes at it. The four nuclear rockets sailed towards the Cruiser, and were each intercepted as Psionic-propelled metal slugs punched them out of space.

The comeback was blazing; a particle beam straight through the ship's Psionic chamber. The stream of highly energized subatomic particles incinerated the Helmsman, crippling the ship's maneuvering capacities, as well as its offensive capabilities.

The fatally-wounded Cruiser turned to face its killer, and began to accelerate using secondary motive engines. The Destroyer peppered the incoming starship with autocannon fire, but it wasn't enough. With only three graviton nacelles left, the wounded warship could not move out of the way. Both ships collided with screeches of tearing metal. The Cruiser, having the mass advantage, plowed straight through the smaller ship, until it hit the saucer sections. The reactors detonated, engulfing half the Cruiser in atomic fire. The Cruiser finally succumbed, and blew outwards in a display of magnificent flames.

The last Cruiser ignored the Battlecruiser, and turned to the _Dark Side of the Moon_. It fired a volley of slugs at the Destroyer's nacelles.

Rose saw the incoming projectiles, and cried out, "All crew, brace for impact!"

The entire ship shook as all six of their graviton nacelles were torn from their struts in a spectacular display of kinetic weaponry. Crewmen were thrown to the deck as a considerable amount of kinetic energy was transferred to the rest of the ship. Lights flickered as power conduits blew and the power grid attempted to reroute itself.

"We have lost motive power, switching to secondary thrusters!" Rose managed to gasp out as the ship shook around her, "Heavy damage to power conduits A-F, rerouting through backups. Main gun offline, torpedo launchers unresponsive. Autocannons have failed. Graviton armor has failed, life support is down, switching to backups. We are mission-killed."

"Fuck!" Dave swore, before jamming his finger on the intercom button, "This is the captain speaking, all hands abandon ship!"

The Alternian Cruiser, satisfied, with the damage it caused, turned its attention to the remaining Battlecruiser and Destroyer, smashing the last two Frigates against its hull during the maneuver.

As the command crew of the _Dark Side of the Moon_ began to vacate the Bridge, Rose stayed.

"Commander, we have to go," Dave urged his subordinate, who just shook her head.

"No, there aren't enough escape pods, sir. You have to get out of here. Just promise to come back for me."

Dave knew that what Rose said was true. The Destroyer didn't have enough escape pods for everyone.

"Alright," Dave sighed in resignation, "I'll come back for you, you have my word."

He climbed down the ladder out of the Bridge. Rose turned her attention back to the battle.

The Alternian Cruiser was sporting serious hull breaches, and it looked like they might actually win the battle. Already, dull thumps could be felt as escape pods left their berths. They swiftly made their way to an open hangar bay in the bottom of the _Reckoning_.

Something didn't seem right to Rose. Cruisers were the weakest ships in the Alternian fleet. In every engagement to date, they always vastly outnumbered and outgunned defensive forces. Why the underwhelming attack force?

Almost as if wanting to answer, a fifth vessel dropped out of Psionic FTL. Its distinctive purple jagged profile was recognizable, and the double line sigil on the warship's side destroyed any and all doubt.

It was the Heavy Battleship _Dualscar_.

The unique ship had a harpoon-like projection on the front, which glowed with an inner azure light. The ship aligned the harpoon with the last Skaian Destroyer, and unleashed the fury of Alternian weapons technology. A stream of blue light engulfed the Destroyer, wiping it from existence. The ship slowly turned, moving the beam inexorably towards the _Reckoning_.

The Battlecruiser swung about, pointing towards empty space. The nacelles on the back began to glow bright cerulean, banishing their previous crimson glow. With a flash, the ship stretched into infinity, and like a rubber band, snapped into the distance and instant before the beam passed through the space it just inhabited.

Thousands of kilometers away, the convoy of Skaian civilian ships also did the same.

Rose's heart fell as she watched her only hope at salvation streak away into FTL. There was nothing she could do. The ship's weapons were inoperable, and it could not move. She didn't even have a sidearm to shoot herself with.

She watched helplessly as the _Dualscar_ moved towards her crippled Destroyer. Rose had heard what Alternians did to their prisoners.

She wasn't looking forward to it.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Alright. I think this is alright for now. Hope you enjoy this chapter, sorry, still no smut. Until I post up the smutty chapter, the rating will stay Teen. So subscribe!_

**Losing Orbit**

**Chapter 2**

"Come oooooooon, fussyfangs, you have to!"

"Vriska, for the last, and final time, no. I have far more important things to do."

"It'll only take an hour of your time! What's one hour out of your whole boring day?"

"It is one hour less that I have to make new clothes for my customers, and consequently an amount of boondollars I will not earn."

"Gog you're such a joy kill. One hour, it's all I'm asking!"

"No, no, and no."

"Please, Kanaya? Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please?!"

Kanaya Maryam sighed in exasperation as Vriska Serket flitted about. Her constant badgering was wearing down on Kanaya's patience, and she wasn't sure how long she could hold out for.

"Pleeeeeeeease Kanaya?"

Kanaya threw her arms up in the air, hissing, "Fine! I willll go with you to the slave auction!"

"Yaaaaaaaay!" Vriska cheered, hugging Kanaya enthusiastically, "Fussyfangs is going to get her first slave!"

Kanaya rolled her eyes. How did she even get into a friendship with Vriska Serket, the infamous spiderbitch? It seemed only yesterday that Vriska walked into her store, criticizing her taste in clothing. Honest to gog, she had no idea how the two of them became such good friends.

This slave auction was just the latest thing Serket had managed to rope her into. She didn't own a slave; she never felt the need to. Vriska owned a few, even though Kanaya had never seen them. Quite frankly, Kanaya wasn't in touch with Alternian politics. She could care less which civilization the fleet is conquering, but she had heard of Skaiafleet. They were an empire of "Humans" who managed to claim an entire quadrant of the galaxy, and from what she heard, they were putting up a fierce resistance. It was futile, of course, but the fact that even Kanaya heard about it was significant.

There were sure to be some Humans at the auction, and no doubt Vriska was going to pressure Kanaya into buying one…

Putting on her jade-tinged coat, Kanaya stepped outside into the frigid Alternian winter air. Normally, she kept her hair short, but the frigid winter season had prompted her to grow it out. Vriska liked it, anyways. Honestly, Kanaya sometimes wondered if she wasn't Red for Miss Serket.

Kanaya's neighborhood was quite upscale. Hives towered into the clouds, which were dimly lit by the setting sun. Back when she was six sweeps old, this would have signaled the end of the day for her. Now it was her morning. A lot had changed. When she was 10 sweeps old, Kanaya moved into the city at the advice of a few friends and the prompting of her mentor, the Dolorosa. Kanaya never thought that she would buy a slave at 11 sweeps, indeed, her mentor had always preached the evils of slavery; that the Alternian Empire should stand on its own feet. Regardless, Kanaya had to admit that maintaining her 13-story Hive was getting to be overwhelming. The Dolorosa used to live in it until she moved, but she still held onto it. When Kanaya moved into the city, the Dolorosa had been eager to dump the dwelling on her prodigy. It was more than enough, which meant that Kanaya only used a few of the rooms, the rest were still empty. They still had to be cleaned periodically or else their dust would spread to the rest of the Hive. Kanaya had tackled it personally, but it was a losing battle, not to mention a two-person job. A slave _would_ be useful.

Kanaya and Vriska walked down the empty streets of the city, the latter blathering endlessly about the types of slaves at the auctions and the former politely listening. Apparently there were a multitude of species actually sold at these auctions. Most of them were beyond the price range of what Kanaya (and Vriska, for that matter) were willing to spend, so they were heading to one of the lower-class auctions. There, creatures who were determined to be unruly and rebellious (and by extension poor slaves) were auctioned off at low prices.

Vriska led Kanaya to a particularly old (but well maintained) warehouse, where the auction was already in progress.

"Augh!" Vriska groaned as she saw the already-going-on auction, "We're late! All the good ones are probably gone!"

Kanaya went up to an Olive-blood young woman who was standing near the back of the crowd, "Excuse me," Kanaya tapped the Olive-blood on the shoulder, "Would you be so kind as to inform me what slaves they are auctioning today?

The Olive-blood turned around, smiling, "Oh, Kanaya, didn't expect to see you here!"

Kanaya was confused for a moment before smiling, "Ah, Nepeta. I did not expect to see you either. I did not recognize you without your meowbeast hat and tail."

"Understandable," Nepeta giggled, "I'm here on an errand for Equius. He needs a new slave after the last one got killed by one of the robots. Unfurtunately, I have not seen a suitable replacement yet."

"Ah," Kanaya nodded, "I see. What species is being auctioned?"

Nepeta gestured at the empty stage, "They caught a batch of Humans a few days ago. Most of them are military, so the bidding isn't too high."

"That makes sense," Kanaya nodded.

"Military?" Vriska gasped, "They won't make good slaves, fussyfangs. I once bought a former soldier, and it took foreeeeeeeever to break him in."

"Well, I can't attend any other auctions due to my busy schedule," Kanaya countered, "I will just have to see what is being auctioned."

The three Alternians turned their attention back to the stage, as a cobalt-blooded assistant dragged the next slave out. It was a Human female, with shoulder-length golden hair, and dressed in an abused purple, blue, and white military uniform. She resisted her captor, mostly out of fear, but there was a little defiance mixed in. She caught Kanaya's eye almost immediately.

"This, Ladies and Gentlemen, is the last item today," the Maroon-blood auctioneer announced at his podium, "Human Female, healthy, but rebellious. Whatever purpose you get her for, I'm guessing you're not planning to let her live for very long. She was an officer in the Human's Navy, so take the necessary precautions. Bidding starts at 50 boondollars."

Vriska frowned, muttering, "50? That's low. She must have given them some real trouble."

"Do I hear a 60? 60 it is, anybody else?"

"70!" Kanaya called out.

"70, do I hear a-"

"100, motherfucker."

The level yet dominating voice filled the room. The ragged Indigo-blood, Gamzee Makara, stood in the middle of the crowd, towering over everyone else and grinning maniacally.

"Gamzee," Vriska scowled, "he buys slaves just so he can kill them slowly. I'll never understand that guy."

"150," Kanaya countered, drawing a glare from the juggalo.

"200," Gamzee spat.

"250,"

"500,"

Kanaya flinched, but held her resolve, "600,"

"Kanaya, what are you doing?" Vriska shook her a bit. This bidding was going way over what Kanaya could afford to spend.

"Not now, Vriska," Kanaya shrugged her friend off. She really didn't know why she felt compelled to buy this Human, but she didn't think anybody deserved whatever Gamzee had in mind.

"1 boonbuck, Motherfucker!" Makara all but shouted, silencing any remnants of side conversations in a room. That was one million boondollars!

Kanaya glared at Gamzee, who had a smug grin on his face. She took a deep breath, knowing that she was probably about to regret her next action.

"A boonbuck and five thousand boondollars." She announced.

It was so silent you could have heard a pin drop.

"Kanaya, what are you thinking?!" Vriska berated Kanaya under her breath, "You don't even make that much money in a sweep!"

Kanaya Maryam didn't care. It was more than worth it to see the shocked look on Makara's face. Everyone knew Gamzee spent most of his cash on sopor slime, special stardust, and Faygo. He probably was about to spend his life savings. He was willing to do all that, and he still didn't get his way.

Gamzee probably doesn't hear "No," a lot.

"1,005,000 boondollars going once," the stunned auctioneer stuttered, "twice… sold, to the Jade-blood. Customers, please pick up your merchandise out the back."

The crowd dispersed, Nepeta bidding Kanaya and Vriska a quick goodbye before darting off.

As Kanaya and Vriska walked around to the back, Vriska massaged her forehead, "Fussyfangs, you spent more money than that creature is probably worth! A Human with a military background only goes for about 1,000 boondollars on the market!"

"I could not let Makara take her," Kanaya stated, "She was clearly terrified, and I doubt Gamzee would have shown her much mercy. Besides, she is somewhat cute."

Vriska shot Kanaya a look, "You're not getting a flush crush for a slave, are you?"

Kanaya shook her head vehemently, "Of course not! My mentor always told that slavery is an evil the Empire could do without. I consider this an act of kindness."

"She's a slave, Maryam," Vriska deadpanned, "You can't set her free."

"Of course not," Kanaya huffed, "However, I'm sure the Human would prefer a life of servitude rather than a short, brutal end at the hands of that disgusting juggalo."

Vriska shrugged, "Alright, don't say I didn't warn you."

At the back of the warehouse, Cobalt-bloods were handing Human slaves out to various Alternians as they paid for their merchandise. Kanaya walked up to the Cobalt-blood holding the restraining rod attached to the blonde Human's neck.

"Pay here," he grunted, holding out a Grubpad. With a few taps on its fleshy interface, the skinscreen shimmered to show that 1,005,000 boondollars had been extracted from her account. Kanaya had over 100,000,000 boondollars in her account, which means that she still had a lot of cash, but she had never made such a large withdrawal in a single sitting.

"Checks out," the Cobalt-blood grunted, handing over the restraining rod, "All yours."

Kanaya fumbled with the tool, grasping it firmly just as the Human began to struggle harder. Apparently she had decided that Kanaya was weaker than the Cobalt-bloods, and while that was true to an extent, she was still strong enough to hold her in place.

"Vriska," Kanaya strained against the struggling Human, "A little help here."

"Got it," Vriska whipped out her Strife Specibus, and tapped the central button. Using stored super-compressed molecules, it reconstituted a hooked blue blade from a data stream in a shimmer of blue light. Vriska snatched the blade and held it up to the Human's throat, who quickly froze in place.

"Now, are you going to come with us peacefully," she hissed, "Or am I going to have to do some cutting?"

After a few seconds of silence, Vriska put the blade away, "Okay, fussyfangs, I think she gets the picture."

"Vriska," Kanaya handed her friend a ring of keys, "Can you please undo her restraints?"

Vriska looked at Kanaya like she had gone insane.

"What?!" Vriska screeched, "Do you know what could happen if we do?"

"I understand," Kanaya nodded, "but I'm not going to earn this Human's trust by dragging her through the streets in shackles. Besides, they look uncomfortable."

Vriska muttered something about common sense, but unlocked the collar and shackles, tossing them to the side of the road. The Human rubbed her wrists and neck tenderly, and cast worried glances at Kanaya and Vriska. She shivered in the frigid Alternian winter.

"I don't think that her clothing is suited to the weather we are having," Kanaya took her jacket off, "This should help."

Vriska stared at her friend in disbelief as she gave the Human slave her jacket.

"Fussyfangs," Vriska spoke slowly and deliberately, "this isn't how you treat slaves."

"Maybe not how you treat them," Kanaya shot back, "but it's how I will."

The Human pulled the jacket a little tighter, and looked a little less fearful.

"Kanaya," Kanaya gestured to herself, and then pointed to Vriska, "Vriska." She then pointed at the Human.

After a few seconds of expectant silence, the Human spoke softly, "Rose."

Kanaya smiled, "Rose."

Rose recoiled slightly, seeing Kanaya's fangs.

"I think you scared her, Fussyfangs," Vriska cackled. A quick glare from Kanaya ended the evil-sounding laughter.

Kanaya gently nudged Rose along, and asked more to herself than anything, "Do we even know the Human's language?"

Vriska shrugged, "No, not important."

"I disagree," Kanaya shook her head as the three of them walked on the still-empty streets, "How can we expect to conquer them if we don't even understand them?"

Vriska thought for a moment, her breath leaving mist in the frosty evening air, "Well, I suppose you could try and teach her our language, but I doubt you'd get much headway. If you want, I could talk to Aranea. I'm sure someone on her ship can intercept and interpret Human transmissions."

Kanaya smiled. She could always count on Vriska to help. As much as Serket didn't want to admit it, she was a very considerate person.

Kanaya, Vriska, and Rose continued down the empty street, towering Hives closing them in on either side. Rose apprehensively took in her surroundings, quite clearly afraid. Kanaya hoped that she could get Rose to trust her in time, but it would probably take time.

Several minutes later, as Vriska was repeating some joke she'd heard in a bar, five Indigo-bloods stepped out of an alley, blocking the trio from proceeding.

Kanaya recognized their leader.

"Well, Motherfucker," Gamzee Makara grinned maliciously, "So we meet again."

Kanaya glared at the juggalo, "Mr. Makara. Will you and your associates please move?"

"Sorry sister, no," Gamzee spat, "You see, you got something of mine."

"She is not yours," Kanaya pulled Rose behind her, "You have no claim on her."

"I think I do," Gamzee pulled two spiked clubs out of his strife specibus, his gang doing so as well, "You see, I got lots of royal blood, what do you have? Trash Jade. So are you going to hand your little bitch over all quiet-like, or am I going to have to do this the hard way?"

Kanaya pulled her lipstick out of her specibus as Vriska drew her sword.

"You disgust me, Makara," Kanaya snarled as she twisted the lipstick. It instantly defied the laws of physics, gaining mass and weight until it transformed into a full-sized chainsaw. She revved the device menacingly, "You don't have a chance… motherfucker."

"Alright then," Gamzee's eyes opened wide as he began to cackle maniacally, "Your funeral, sister!"

Both parties leaped at each other. Vriska screamed a battle cry as she parried the blow from a juggalo's mace. Ducking under the second mace, she disemboweled the Indigo blood, kicking him back and turning her attention to the second juggalo.

Kanaya beheaded two juggalos in a single swing, her chainsaw's Harmonic Molecular Resonance function allowing it to cut through hardened titanium clubs like butter. After killing her two opponents, Kanaya blocked a swing from Gamzee that was intended for her head. The two weapons sparked against each other violently as their Quantum-locked molecular structure made them nearly invulnerable to damage.

"This is motherfucking blasphemy!" Gamzee screamed in Kanaya's face.

"I really do not care," Kanaya calmly retorted, "You will be seeing much more 'blasphemy' if you do not admit defeat."

"Never!" Gamzee spat as he kicked Kanaya across the street. She impacted the side of a Hive with great force, leaving a considerable dent.

Kanaya cried out in pain, feeling several bones break. The strength Indigo bloods possessed were far greater than her own, and if this battle dragged on, the Legislacerators would have the body of one Kanaya Maryam to commit to the morgue.

Vriska finished off her second opponent with a stab to the groin, followed by a slice across the neck.

Turning to see how her friend was doing, Vriska was horrified to see Kanaya slumped against the side of a Hive, struggling to move. Gamzee stomped his way towards her, licking his lips in anticipation.

Vriska gripped her blade with two hands, and made a running leap at the juggalo.

"Hey, asshole!" Vriska shouted, swinging down her sword, "Get away from my friend!"

**[[413]]**

Rose Lalonde was scared, apprehensive, tired, and just a bit cold. Ever since the Trolls (slur for Alternians) captured her from her ship, she had been kept in a confused, disoriented, and drugged state. When the drugs had worn off, Rose was hauled onto a stage in front of a crowd of Trolls. At first, she was worried she was going to be killed for entertainment value, but very quickly she recognized the setting. Looks like no matter what time period or planet it takes place on, slave auctions are pretty universal in nature.

Rose had been terrified when that large, menacing Troll with wavy horns appeared to bid on her. The look in its eyes were completely inhospitable, and she had no doubt that she would not survive long in his care. Rose couldn't tell how much she was bought for, but a tall, feminine Troll with stylish clothing appeared to win the little bidding war.

Later, she was handed over to the Troll in question. Rose tried to escape, but it didn't really work. Aside from that Troll with glasses, the one with the green symbol seemed nice enough. So Rose decided to go along willingly. If she bided her time, maybe an opportunity would present itself.

As she walked along the long, endless streets, she had gazed at the skyscrapers lining either side. They appeared to extend forever, casting long forbidding shadows onto the narrow street. How did Alternians live like this? In the evening sunset, the city appeared like a million black thorns reaching upwards into a blood-red sky. It made Rose feel small and insignificant.

Then, of course, that Troll with wavy horns showed up with a gang, and exchanged threatening words with her captors, "Kanaya" and "Vriska".

Rose had to admit, the battle that ensued was mesmerizing. Hand-to-hand combat had ceased to be a thing back on Derse and Prospit, so displays like this could never be seen back on her home planet. There was a certain elegance in the way that Kanaya beheaded her opponents, and with a chainsaw no less!

When Kanaya was knocked into the far side of one of the buildings, Rose began to consider running away. If Vriska was disabled in this fight, that menacing Troll would no doubt take her, and she _really_ didn't want that to happen.

Rose cast her gaze around the battlefield, looking for a weapon to use. Clubs, clubs, clubs! She couldn't use clubs!

Then she saw what appeared to be some sort of gun, lying in a holster of one of the dead Trolls. Rose dove to it and yanked it free. It was bulbous and rounded, but recognizable as a gun. It had a trigger and barrel, at least.

Standing up, Rose leveled the gun at the two combatants, Vriska and that other Troll. Vriska was having trouble blocking her opponent's blows, and was losing ground. With a single blow, Vriska's sword was sent flying away, along with most of her left arm. She let out a pain-filled cry, and collapsed, gripping the stump of her arm, trying to stop the bleeding. The taller Troll laughed as Cerulean sprayed the ground, and he raised his club.

Rose didn't know what would happen to her if Vriska and Kanaya died, but she didn't want to take her chances with that wavy-horned Troll. She aimed and pulled the trigger.

**[[413]]**

Vriska clutched the stump of her left arm, gasping in pain as the edges of her vision began to blur. It couldn't end like this! Gamzee laughed as he stomped his way over to her twitching body.

"See what happens when you try and fight back, bitch?" he chuckled, "Too bad it's too late to change your mind."

Vriska stared in horror as the club rose in the air, ready to come down and end her life.

Then, with a deafening boom, the club disappeared in a flash of red light, along with Gamzee's right hand.

Makara stared, dumbfounded, at the smoking stump at the end of his arm, before grabbing the cauterized appendage and screaming pitifully at the top of his lungs.

Vriska was surprised, but didn't look the gift horse in the mouth as she whipped out her Fluorite Octet and tossed them onto the ground. After rolling to a stop, the eight dice crackled with cobalt electricity. The energy coalesced, and lanced out in one giant bolt of power, striking Gamzee in the chest, hurling him several meters down the street. He tumbled to a stop, his twitching form smoking from the attack. Even from that, Vriska knew, that cursed juggalo would live. It took more than that to kill an Indigo-blood.

Vriska was more than a little surprised to see the Human, Rose, holding a smoking Antimatter pistol. So she saved Vriska? That was shocking. Not only that, but Rose seemed more interested in the gun itself than pointing it at Vriska and Kanaya.

Since she was out of danger, Vriska put her dice and sword back in her specibus, and pulled a tourniquet out of her sylladex. With a grunt of pain, she tightened it around her left arm, staunching the flow of blood. After taking a moment to breathe, she stumbled over to Kanaya, grabbing her dismembered arm on the way. She swore, if Gamzee had actually killed her moirail, she was going to end him once and for all.

**[[413]]**

Rose was completely unprepared to the deafening bang her gun made. Whatever it fired, she couldn't see it. It did, however, completely incinerate her target's hand in a flash or crimson. The Troll screamed as he clutched his stump, and Rose grinned, aiming dead center and pulling the trigger.

A pitiful cough puffed from the gun, as it failed to fire. In confusion, Rose examined the gun, hitting it a few times. Whatever made the firearm tick apparently died, as the weapon was turning a dead gray from its lively scarlet hue.

Vriska did something with some small blue stones, blasting Gamzee far down the street in a blast of cobalt light. Rose's eyes widened in shock, what kind of weapon was that?! Even more, what if she was next?!

Rose cursed, looking for something to turn the gun back on. Meanwhile, Vriska made her way over to check on Kanaya, who was no longer moving.

Suddenly, someone yelled something in Alternian, Rose heard a muffled bang, and three long metal ropes wrapped around her legs, arms, and torso. The impact knocked her off balance, and since she was no longer able to move her legs, she fell face first onto the cold, hard ground.

**[[413]]**

"Halt, criminal!"

Vriska knew who that voice belonged to before even looking.

Latula Pyrope, Legislacerator (and the city's only policing force) swooped down on her antigravity board and fired her Immobilizer, a long rifle that launched three restraining bonds. The metal ropes wrapped around Rose, pinning her arms to her body and her legs together. She tried to stay upright, but toppled over.

Latula brought her board to a steady hover five inches from the street, and hopped off.

"Good evening, Ms. Serket," the older adult Troll grinned, "Certainly radical of you to be searching out trouble this early in the evening."

Vriska rolled her eyes, "Spare me, Pyrope. We weren't the instigators; those juggalos were. Gamzee Makara was leading them."

Latula walked over to Gamzee's prone form, nudging his body with her shoe.

"He's out cold," Latula whistled in appreciation, "Giving those dice a workout, Serket?"

Vriska rubbed her forehead with her remaining right arm, "Look, just help me out with Kanaya. She's hurt."

Latula whipped out a small device from her belt, pressing a few of the buttons, and waved it over Kanaya. The device whined and beeped several times as its skinscreen adjusted to display the data.

"Looks like she's got a few broken ribs," Pyrope scrutinized the readout, "and minor damage to her secondary heart. It should heal up in a day, and she's already on the mend. Just have her keep it easy until tomorrow."

Vriska sighed in relief, "Good, well, can you wake her up?"

Latula dug around in her pockets, before pulling out a small hypodermic injector. She fiddled with the controls, before tapping it against Kanaya's neck. A small hiss was the only indication that anything was injected.

After a few seconds, she began to stir, groaning in obvious discomfort, "It feels like I was hit by a starship," she complained, "What happened?"

"Gamzee kicked you into the wall," Vriska supplied, "he would have finished me off, but your little slave took off his hand. I knocked him out with my dice, but I'm down one arm."

Kanaya forced her eyes open, scrutinizing Vriska's stump.

"Ouch," she remarked, to which Vriska shrugged.

"Looks worse than it is," the Cerulean blood rubbed the remaining portion of her left arm, "Just give me a night with some regeneration-meds, and I'll be good as new."

Latula looked back at Rose, who was wriggling on the ground, trying to escape her bonds, "So you bought a slave, Maryam?" the Legislacerator remarked, "I thought you were too high-and-mighty for that."

Kanaya stood up with Vriska's assistance, "My Hive is too expansive to maintain myself," She sighed, "I needed some help."

"I'll say," Latula whistled, "Dumping a 13-story Hive on a wriggler like you… I'll never understand Porrim. Anyways, why'd you chose a former-military Human? You know those are really hard to break in."

"Well, if I didn't, I wouldn't be alive right now," Kanaya mused, "so I am just going to see where this takes me."

Latula walked over the Gamzee's limp form, and began tying it up with metal ropes, "Whatever. I 'll deal with this mess, Maryam. Have a nice night."

"You too, Pyrope,"

Kanaya walked over to Rose, undoing the straps keeping the Human immobilized. Vriska picked up the Antimatter pistol, and tossed it up into the air, "Those stupid asses were packing some serious heat," she observed, "I'm lucky your slave is such a good shot, otherwise I might have died as well."

The last restraint undone, Rose sat up, rubbing the sore spots where the binders hit her. She still looked at Vriska and Kanaya with wariness and fear, but at least it was less than before.

"Can I get this fixed at your Hive, fussyfangs?" Vriska waved her left arm around, "Then I'll be out of your hair. I've got stuff to do tonight."

"Alright, Vriska," Kanaya helped Rose up, "Thank you for your assistance."

"Don't mention it," Vriska smiled humorously, "After all, we're moirails. My 8-ball pile would be pretty empty without you."

The two Alternians and one Human continued down the street, the oddest trio in the city, as it began to come alive with the bustle of nightly life.

_A/N: Loose ends will be clarified next chapter. I'm also looking for BETA readers who can make extensive edits concerning descriptive language. PM if you're interested._


End file.
